Not Exactly Will Rogers Material...

Traveling provides a great education. Noted writers like Louis L'Amour as well as songwriters like Woody Guthrie and humorists like Will Rogers all found that their travels provided them with the material from which their professional careers were fashioned. I'm not talking about googling something to find out more...I'm talking about being keen observers both of people and of life in general and having the wit to make sense of it all. of course, these people and others of their ilk are world-renowned for the depth of their observations concerning the human condition. I will never be so recognized.
Spending the better part of five days on the road in places more or less unfamiliar to me gave me a great opportunity to try my hand at making insightful notes while watching the people all around me. I had never been to North (or South) Carolina, never been to Philadelphia's airport, and thus, I was equipped with a whole new set of people to watch. To all appearances, only the voice inflections differ in the Southeast: people are people. But here are some of the more notable things I noticed.
*Bad behavior, like good behavior, is learned. OK, no surprise here. I watched a ten-year old boy positively melt down at a basketball game when an official's call did not go the way of his sister's team. He was literally screaming, kicking and pounding on the bleachers with his fists...and crying. His dad forced him to settle down though it took him several tense minutes. But then, ten minutes later, the father was shouting at the officials...only to be corrected by his wife. He took his son up to the very top of the arena for the rest of that game and the game played the next night.

*Hispanic people don't seem to use airports. Seriously, I saw many people of all nationalities during the holiday rush, but none of them was of hispanic origin. Of course, this might mean that the segment of the country which I was visiting has a very small Hispanic population to begin with...but O'Hare Airport in Chicago? I think everybody in the world goes through there during the holiday season. Or maybe it's a socioeconomic thing. I really don't know, but I was surprised as it became more and more obvious.

* There are a few fashion trends this year...at least one held over from past years.
1. UGG brand boots. I think they look ridiculous without any real arch support or , well, style, but they are everywhere, and not just on the East Coast-wannabes who took to wearing so much black a few years ago.
2. Over-the-calf boots are in. Every woman who was nOT wearing UGGs seemed to be wearing boots that extended almost to the knee. These look odd to me because they get all wrinkly around the ankles. It's almost like they sag at that point.
3. Women continue to wear shoes with very pointy toes and the highest, thinnest heels. I would kill myself if I tried anything like that. I would even go with UGGs before this kind of death-dealing contraption.
4. EVERYBODY has a scarf on. Mind you, it's not really wintery enough to dig out a scarf so I presume this is a fashion trend. men, women, kids, everybody but me seemed to have a scarf wrapped loosely about his or her neck. Personally, if it's cold, I'll take a scarf and wind it around inside my coat...wear it as a fashion accessory? Nope.

*Technology has convinced us that we do not really have to think anymore. I used a GPS in a rental car for the first time this weekend. When I thought I knew where I was going yet was told something different by the automated voice, I followed the voice instead of my instincts. Of course, NOT doing so would preclude the reason I bought the darn thing, but...
At one point, the verbal turn-by-turn function stopped working so I had to constantly look at the screen to see where I was going. Map? I don't need no stinking map! Leaving at 5 a.m. for the airport, I was relieved to find that the voice prompts were back on, but somewhat taken aback to find out that the language being used was nothing I'd programmed in (turned out to be Africaan). Fortunately, I had looked at a map, and there was almost no traffic so it was easy...if a bit unnerving.

*The easiest way to get people to leave you alone is to put on headphones and begin to nod in rhythm or drum on something (thus giving away your total lack of actual rhythm). Of course, when the iPod battery dies and there is no music...there's that dependence on technology thing again.

*The Atlantic Ocean looks just about like the Pacific Ocean, and Lake Michigan, and the Indian Ocean...but the water temps are completely different with completely different things washed up on the beach to entice beach-combing.

Like I noted, not exactly Will Rogers material, but then, it was only a few days not several years.